Visual editing

The visual editor parses your .tex and shows formatted text, math, figures, and tables. It is not a different format: it is your file, rendered.

It is WYSIWYM, not WYSIWYG: what you see is what you mean, not a pixel preview of the compiled page. A heading looks like a heading and a numbered equation looks numbered, but the exact fonts, spacing, and layout come from your LaTeX engine and preamble, not the editor. For that, see Live preview.

Where to find it

In the editor: The Visual / Source toggle Top right corner of the editor.
Shortcut: Ctrl+K Then "Switch to the visual editor".

The Visual / Source toggle, Visual selected, in the top right corner of the editor

Typing in the visual editor, with math and formatting applied live

What can be visually edited

Texpile's visual editor is currently optimized for normal articles and similar documents, including research papers, essays, and reports. Although Texpile will try its best to render everything visually, some uncommon macros cannot be rendered. Those are left as raw LaTeX code, shown as a chip in the editor.

Cross-references

Type @ to reference any equation, figure, table, or citation in the project. Equations render inline and keep their numbering, so a reference reads as the number it will print as.

Tables

Insert a table by size from the toolbar, then click into any cell to edit it. Select two or more cells and right-click to merge them into a multirow or multicolumn span.

Numbering, merging, and the settings panel, in full

Spell check

Runs locally and checks prose only: your commands, math, and comments are skipped.

Turning it on, and adding your own words

Formatting shortcuts

The usual editing keys apply, and each one maps to the LaTeX you would have typed.

`CtrlB`	Bold
`CtrlI`	Italic
`CtrlU`	Underline
`Ctrl``	Inline code
`Ctrl.`	Superscript
`Ctrl,`	Subscript
`CtrlShift1…3`	Heading levels 1 to 3
`CtrlM`	Inline math
`CtrlShiftM`	Display math

On macOS, use Cmd wherever this table says Ctrl.

Visual editor features

Five parts of the visual editor go deep enough for their own page: equation numbering and per-line labels, resizing and captioning images, merging table cells from a settings panel, the shared @ picker for citations and cross-references, and selecting a whole block, then its parent, from the toolbar.

Equations Inline and display math, numbered and referenced, with a symbol toolbar. Images Drag, paste, or insert a figure; resize, caption, and number it visually. Tables Insert by size, edit cells directly, merge, and control rules from a settings panel. Citations Type @ for a picker across your bibliography and your own figures, tables, and equations. Smart selection Select a whole block, then its parent, straight from the toolbar.